Business Today
STAMFORD, Conn.  Xerox Corp. said Tuesday it will cut more than 2,400 jobs, or 3.4 percent of its worldwide work force, through a combination of layoffs and voluntary departures in a bid to reduce costs and boost efficiency.

Q AND A
Q: We plan to stay in this house for about three years and then my husband will likely get a promotion overseas. Our current mortgage is $250,000 at 8 percent. We can refinance now and save 2 percent a year, which is approximately $15,000 over 3 years. Should we refinance now for such a short period of time?

Study finds hard times in housing
WASHINGTON (AP)  Many more low- and moderate-income working families are spending at least half their salaries on rent or mortgages, according to a study released Tuesday by affordable-housing advocates.

Greenspan: Fed still well-armed in economic fight
WASHINGTON (AP)  Fed eral Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Tuesday the Fed would not be "out of business" in terms of stimulating the economy even if it should push a key interest rate to zero.
Greenspan used his appearance before the Council on Foreign Relations to dispute worry expressed by some private economists that the Fed may be running out of ammunition to jump-start the lagging economic recovery.

Q AND A
Q: Automobile insurance is very pricey here in New Jersey. My 17-year-old son, who has his own car, says his friends take out insurance to get their registration approved and then cancel it. He says he has nothing to lose. My question is twofold: If he has an accident, can the other party come after me? Secondly, can his future earnings be attached? There is, of course, the moral question, which I'm having a problem with as well.

Proposed cuts boost United stock valuation
CHICAGO (AP)  United Air lines' stock jumped nearly 20 percent Monday after the struggling carrier announced plans for further layoffs, pay cuts and flight reductions, the latest in a series of steep cost reductions aimed at keeping it out of bankruptcy court.

H&R Block to settle Texas suit
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)  H&R Block said Tuesday it will settle a class-action lawsuit filed in Texas that accused it of taking kickbacks from banks over loans made to clients awaiting tax refunds.

Keck draws up solid effort
Texas Tech offensive tackle Casey Keck likes to sketch cartoons in his spare time.
If he were to do a caricature this week of Cory Redding, Keck would have license to draw Redding as a tamer character than he's been painted in the past. Keck, with the help of Rex Richards, defanged one of the nation's most respected pass rushers, giving Kliff Kingsbury time to throw for six touchdowns Saturday in the Red Raiders' 42-38 upset of then-No. 4 Texas.

Copeland resigns as LCU AD
Lubbock Christian University is searching for a new athletics director after John Copeland tendered his resignation from the post, the school annoucned Monday.

Lady Raiders nab area standout
The Texas Tech women's basketball team has already taken the upper hand in what is expected to be one of the biggest recruiting wars in the state and even perhaps the nation.

Big money on line for Leach with OU game
As if the stakes weren't high enough already, Mike Leach can add a pretty fat paycheck to the list of spoils to be won this week at Oklahoma.
The Texas Tech head coach will receive $87,500 if his team beats fourth-ranked Oklahoma Saturday night in a battle for the championship of the Big 12 Conference South Division.

Cudnoski, Rea power Flying Queens to win
PLAINVIEW  Wayland Baptist shot nearly 72 percent from the field and got 21- and 20-point games, respectively, from Alison Cudnoski and Cami Rea on the way to routing University of Texas-Permian Basin 104-35 Tuesday night.

Raiders garner third signing
As expected, Texas Tech signed its third men's basketball prospect Monday when City College of San Francisco forward Mike Travis inked a national letter of intent to play at Tech next season.

Hall Of Fame
TEXAS TECH LADY Raiders basketball coach Marsha Sharp has accomplished many things, but her selection for the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame surely will rank as one of the sweetest moments of a great career  a career that still has many other great things yet to come.

College For Texans
TEXAS IS HEADED in the wrong direction as far as higher education goes. As time passes, a smaller percentage of Texans is going to college. Currently, 4.9 percent of our state's population is enrolled in college, but it is expected to drop to 4.6 percent by 2015.

City Farmland
THE CITY FARMLAND east of Lubbock has certainly been in the news a lot lately  mostly because of the prairie dogs that live there and now because of the city's decision to stop letting cattle graze on the land.

A Star Is Born
IT WAS LESS THAN a year ago that we wished Lubbock ballet dancer  and high school senior  NaTalia Johnson well in her desire to become a professional dancer.

Emotions come from different sides of brain
Imaging studies show that the brain's left prefrontal cortex is more active when positive, expansive emotions are experienced. By contrast, the right prefrontal cortex is associated more with negative and inhibiting feelings.

Tech, school districts get grants
Texas Tech and the Lubbock and Roosevelt independent school districts will share grants totaling more than $55,000 from the Lubbock International Cultural Center at a 3 p.m. ceremony today in the cultural center at seventh Street and Indiana Avenue.

Educators, students cheer state launch of ' College for Texans'
More than 250 students joined top local educational leaders Tuesday for the kickoff to a statewide campaign intended to bring 500,000 more students into Texas higher education by 2015.
Texas Tech President David Schmidly called the "College for Texans" program an unprecedented statewide campaign.

Doing it right
Members of the Matador Band at Estacado High School take their clue from band director Jason Levin.
When Levin has fun, his musicians know it's OK to laugh and joke. When he's serious, they are darn quiet and attentive. When the second-year band director shares his dream of molding a superior program, his students practice and perform with that goal in mind.

New Jersey man wins 'Push' prize
LOS ANGELES  A 24-year-old from West New York, N.J., was the first person to figure out the "Push, Nevada" puzzle and has claimed the $1 million-plus prize associated with the canceled ABC series.
Mark Nakomoto, an assistant editor at a publishing firm, figured out the puzzle less than two minutes after the game's final clue was broadcast Oct. 28, during "Monday Night Foot ball." The final clue completed a coded message that corresponded to a phone number.

Christina Applegate guest stars on 'Friends'
LOS ANGELES  Christina Applegate has appeared before a TV studio audience in the neighborhood of 300 times over the past 15 years. Yet when she did a guest role on an episode of "Friends" recently, she felt something new.
"I found myself incredibly nervous on show night, which I never was before," Applegate recalls of the episode, which airs at 7 p.m. Thursday on KCBD-TV Channel 11 (Cox Cable Channel 3). "I was petrified. I couldn't believe it. I was laughing at myself  'Why are you so freaked out?' "

Monterey falls in close contest
Sooner or later, the Monterey girls may play in a blowout of some sort this basketball season.
So far, though, the Lady Plainsmen have opted to take the nail-biter path in four games.

City basketball teams return to action today
Monterey hosts a doubleheader to highlight a busy slate of high school basketball action today.
The Lady Plainsmen entertain Midland Lee at 6 p.m., while the Monterey boys play host to Morton at 7:30 p.m.

CITY BOYS BASKETBALL ROUNDUP
TULIA  Roosevelt Tennison knocked down three 3-pointers in the second quarter to spark Roosevelt to a 68-54 triumph against Tulia Tuesday.

Tribute To Veterans
The families and friends of the veterans from Floyd County witnessed the most beautiful perfect tribute that caused tears from both men and women who witnessed an awesome ceremony from a dream of a 17-year-old boy at Floydada High School in 4-H club.

GOP Has No More Excuses
The Republicans have the White House, the House and, now, the Senate. Not to men tion the judges! They finally seize control. Control means no more excuses. No one in their way to get things done. It's time for Republicans to show us they belong there!

North Korea Also Threat
At the risk of playing devil's advocate, I pose a question. If the U.S. warlords are basing military action on worldwide threat to our safety, how is it that our target seems to be Iraq, who "only" has weapons of mass destruction, while North Korea already possesses nuclear capability?

Changing Of Guard
I have this to say to both Clintons, Al Gore, Jesse Jackson, Senators Schumer and Leahy, "In your zeal to demean, discredit and embarrass President Bush, you forgot one salient factor: who his publicly avowed mentor is  Jesus Christ!"

Special Veterans Day
Jack Schneider and I and "our ladies" want to thank the young man who came to our table at a loc

Genealogical Records
Re: The letter "What's In A Name?" (A-J, 11-5), from a reader requesting more information on the name "Laverne."

Recipes are free
"What's For Dinner," a free, color-illustrated brochure with a recipe for each day of the week, is available by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: What's For Dinner, California Tomato Commission, 1625 E. Shaw Avenue, Suite 106, Fresno, CA 93710.

Make light work of Thanksgiving hospitality
NEW YORK  "Thanksgiv ing is all about bounty and abundance," says Susan Ungaro, editor of Family Circle magazine, defining the essence of the holiday. For her, as for most people, it's a time for family above all.

The right stuff
When your family or guests ask, "What are you serving for Thanksgiving din ner?" they aren't asking if there will be turkey. After all, that's expected. Rather, they're interested in finding out what kind of stuf fing and side dishes you'll serve to com plement the main attraction.
A perfect side dish any time of year, savory stuff ing truly shines during the holidays and is as much a part of Thanksgiving tradition as parades and foot ball games. While all stuffings contain a few com mon elements  such as select breads, herbs and spices  no two cooks prepare exactly the same style of stuffing.

Butterball has turkey talk line
Butterball is providing 46 home economists to man its turkey hot line. For 22 years, the experts at the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line have answered questions from 2.6 million holiday chefs. The talk line has extended its hours through Dec. 27 to help cooks with all their holiday meals. The Turkey Talk-Line is 1-800-Butterball for www.butterball.com.

Cass selects trio to help shed light on utility fumble
City Manager Bob Cass has asked a former FBI agent and a retired federal magistrate to help verify how an independent power agency applied $1.6 million and other funds that left the utility owing the city $5.3 million.
City Council members found a discrepancy over the funds in September after they and the West Texas Municipal Power Agency settled a lawsuit against a contractor. They believed a $1.6 million reserve was available from the settlement.

news brief- 11/20/02
Daryl Durant of Woodrow remained in serious condition Tuesday at Covenant Medical Center. He was injured Nov. 2 in a collision in the 14600 block of County Road 2200.

zba agenda
The Lubbock Zoning Board of Adjustment will consider the following requests for zoning variances at 8:15 a.m. today in City Council chambers at 1625 13th St.:

District 19 race brings challenge to cotton country
It won't be long before red, white and blue yard signs pop up on the South Plains, shouting the battle cries of congressional candidates.
But before the candidates emerge, a new battle is shaping up between Lubbock and the Permian Basin over a different set of priorities in District 19.

Nursing students collect safety helmets for children
Students from Covenant Health System's School of Nursing hope children use their heads when it comes to safety.
That is why the members of the Covenant Student Nurses Association collected safety helmets to present to children Tuesday at the Inside Out Kids Cafe at Central Lubbock Church of Christ.

Luck smiles on Floydada teen in finals of scholarship contest
Jesse Finley of Floydada hardly cracked a smile after claiming the top prize in The Avalanche-Journal's Make Kids Count Scholarship Con test. Finley took home a $10,000 savings bond for the 13- to 18-year-old age group.
Runner-up was Katie Han cock, 13, of Brownfield. She won a $5,000 savings bond.

NM governor cans Racing Commission
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)  Gov. Gary Johnson ousted members of the state Racing Commission, including its chairman, on Monday to stop it from taking action on whether to allow a horse racetrack to open in southeastern New Mexico.

Homeland Security clears Senate
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Sen ate voted decisively Tues day to create a Homeland Security Department, delivering a triumph to President Bush and setting the stage for the biggest government reshuffling in a half-century as a way to thwart and respond to terrorist attacks.
The final vote was 90-9, belying bitter clashes that pitted Congress against the White House and the two parties against each other and prolonged work on the legislation for nearly a year. Eight Demo crats and independent Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont voted "no."

Everett DeGraff
PLAINVIEW  Graveside services for Everett DeGraff, 49, of Edmondson will be at 2 p.m. Thursday in Parklawn Memorial Gardens with Rex Delong of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints officiating.

Maurine Sims
Services for Maurine Sims, 88, of Lubbock will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Resthaven's Abbey Chapel with Bill Starcher officiating.

Marjorie Nettles
NEW HOME  Services for Marjorie Nettles, 79, of New Home will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at New Home Baptist Church with the Rev. Paul McClung officiating and the Rev. Jarrell Rial assisting.

Maria Lara
Funeral mass for Maria Lara, 70, of Lubbock will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church with the Rev. David Cruz officiating.

Carol Lawson
Memorial services for Carol Ann Lawson, 53, of Columbia, Mo. will be at 4 p.m. in the First United Methodist Church Chapel in Plainview, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2002. Visitation will be from 3 to 4 p.m. in the parlor.

James Hollandsworth
BIG SPRING  Services for James C. Hollandsworth, 81, of Big Spring, formerly of Camp Wood, will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Nalley-Pickle & Welch Rosewood Chapel with Chaplain Joel Miller officiating.

Mary Brock
In victory and joy, Mary Lee Brock was united with her God and her loved ones on Monday, November 18, 2002!

Geremias Aguirre
DENVER CITY  Graveside services for Geremias Aguirre, infant son of Jose and Sanjuana Aguirre, were 2 p.m. Sunday in Denver City Memorial Park with the Rev. Isidro Ponce of Sanai Baptist Church officiating.

Lura Stephens
Services for Lura J. Stephens, 65, of San Diego, Calif., will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Mount Vernon Methodist Church in Lubbock with Kirby Thomas officiating and J.C. Clark assisting.

Lee Maberry
ERICKSDAHL  Services for Lee Maberry, 66, of Garza County will be at 2 p.m. today at Ericksdahl Lutheran Church with Pastor James Nelson officiating.

Erma Hudman
ROBERT LEE  Services for Erma L. Hudman, 85, of Robert Lee will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Emmanuel Pentecostal Church in Robert Lee with Ray Aldridge officiating.

Police blotter- 11/20/02
Blotter information is compiled from reports filed with the Lubbock Police Department. To report information about these or other crimes, call Crime Line at 741-1000. In some cases, cash rewards are offered. Callers may remain anonymous.
HEAD:AGGRAVATED ASSAULT

Police blotter- 11/19/02
Blotter information is compiled from reports filed with the Lubbock Police Department. To report information about these or other crimes, call Crime Line at 741-1000. In some cases, cash rewards are offered. Callers may remain anonymous.
DRUG CRIMES

Rockies, Diamondbacks agree on Walker trade
IRVING  The Colorado Rockies put together their second big trade within a week, agreeing Tuesday to a tentative deal that would send Larry Walker to Arizona in a five-player trade in which the Diamondbacks would give up Matt Williams.
Arizona also would send first baseman Erubiel Durazo, outfielder David Dellucci and reliever Bret Prinz to Colorado for the 1997 National League MVP.

Smith disappointed in sudden reduction of playing time
IRVING (AP)  Emmitt Smith knew his role with the Dallas Cowboys would change after he became the NFL career rushing leader. He just didn't expect it to get cut so much, so fast.
Two games after breaking Walter Payton's record, Smith had just eight carries for 22 yards in a 20-3 loss Sunday at Indianapolis. It was his lowest total since a blowout loss in the 2000 opener, when he ran only seven times.

Man gets 25-year sentence for abduction of son in Post
POST  For Isela Gomez, justice against her ex-husband has finally been served, but the effects of his crime against their family linger.
"It's gonna be a long healing process," Gomez said. "We're strong and we'll make it through. We've got a lot of family support and a lot of friends. We'll make it through."

Weiberg works bowl possibilities
Kevin Weiberg has been forced to play a numbers game.
It's sort of tricky. By the end of Saturday's games, the Big 12 Conference commissioner realizes that he might have as many as 10 Big 12 teams to fill just eight contracted bowl game slots.

Convicted cop killer maintains innocence
HUNTSVILLE (AP)  Defiant to the end, a former federal drug informant who aspired to be a CIA agent was executed Tuesday for killing a Houston police officer 13 years ago.

Pilot linked to NASA theft
HOUSTON (AP)  A Houston man who fell from a single-engine plane at 9,000 feet was being investigated in the theft of NASA technology, authorities said.

Man found guilty of break-in and rape
Joshua L. Worthington, 24, was found guilty Tuesday of breaking into an abandoned house and raping a mentally impaired former classmate.
Worthington told police that the victim, a 24-year-old woman who functions at an elementary-school level, consented to several sexual acts inside an abandoned rural house, according to Sheriff's Office reports.

Congress told U.S. Internet security suffers serious problems
WASHINGTON (AP)  A House panel gave failing grades Tuesday to the government's overall efforts to protect some of its most important computer systems and said online security at the departments of State, Justice and Transportation was especially bad.

Texas set to execute convicted cop killer Tuesday night
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP)  A former federal drug informant who aspired to be a CIA agent headed to the Texas death chamber Tuesday for killing a Houston police officer 13 years ago.
Craig Ogan, 47, from St. Louis, had been in Houston only a few weeks when he fatally shot officer James Boswell the night of Dec. 9, 1989.

Five Tarrant County judges ban court reporter from criminal cases
FORT WORTH (AP)  A court reporter who contracts with Tarrant County has been banned from working criminal cases in the courtrooms of five judges after a deputy reported that the court reporter recently passed a note to a capital murder defendant.
A deputy's report obtained Monday by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram alleges Liz Richardson left a yellow sticky note reading "Can you be trusted?" under the chair where murder defendant Heliberto Chi was sitting during jury selection.

City health officials see rise in shigellosis cases
The city of Lubbock Health Department issued a health alert for shigellosis Wednesday after 19 cases were reported between Nov. 11 and Tuesday, according to Tigi Ward, public health coordinator-surveillance.
"We're concerned that with the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and large family gatherings, if someone is infected and not having symptoms, they could possibly spread it to other members of the family," Ward said.

Nightclub patrons targeted by robbers
Police are looking for a group of three to five men who robbed bar patrons at gunpoint at two nightclubs along Avenue Q overnight Tuesday.
The adolescents possibly robbed a pizza deliveryman as well, police Sgt. Tony Gribben said.

Winner claims $10,000 scholarship
Jesse Finley of Floydada hardly cracked a smile after claiming the top prize in the Avalanche-Journal's Make Kids Count Scholarship Contest. Finley, 15, took home a $10,000 savings bond top prize for the 13 to 18 year-old age group.
Second runnerup was Katie Hancock, 13, of Brownfield. She won a $5,000 savings bond. The field of contestants was comprised nearly of 600 teenagers.

United Way surpasses goal
Lubbock Area United Way surpassed its goal of $4,533,995 Wednesday, by taking in $1,740 more than the targeted amount for this year's campaign.
Collections totaled $4,535,735, with a few individual campaigns remaining before an official final tally is announced at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at United Way's offices.

Homebound Crosbyton residents get early Thanksgiving
CROSBYTON  The audience clapped exuberantly as the fourth-graders finished up their program of Texas folk songs and dances.
Boys and girls dressed with bandanas and cowboy hats beamed as they filed off the stage of the Pioneer Memorial building to get back on to their bus back to Crosbyton Elementary School.

Conference targets low-income home buyers
A regional conference starting Thursday aims to help low-income Americans buy a home.
Hosted by the Lubbock Housing Consortium and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the conference will provide an overview of how HUD's Section-8 vouchers can be used for mortgage payments instead of traditional rental assistance payments.

New detector can determine chemical composition of truck contents
EL PASO, Texas (AP)  A new type of detector that can identify the chemical composition of loads inside trucks and alert inspectors to suspicious materials will be in place next summer at a southeast El Paso international bridge.
"It's an exciting concept," said P.T. Wright, operations chief for the U.S. Customs Service in El Paso. "For 5,000 years, customs inspectors had to see it, touch it and feel it, but this enables them to inspect something without ever having to open a container."

Amarillo tattoo removal center does brisk business
Holly Vanessa Edger wants to move on.
"The whole lifestyle that goes along with a tattoo is no longer my lifestyle now," Edger, a probation secretary, said. "I regret getting my tattoos. I just hate them. It's just a total misrepresentation of who I am now."

Easy credit can put students in tough bind
Camille Chen, assistant director of the Red to Black program at Texas Tech's Career Center, said that every day she sees students who have fallen into the credit card trap, leaving them stuck in a pile of debt.
"Credit card companies target high school and college students knowing they can get them hooked," Chen said.

N. Texas town outlaws replica guns in public
DALLAS (AP)  Carrollton's city council has made it illegal for minors to possess toy guns that look real in public and for anybody to use replica guns in a way that could cause public alarm.
Police Chief David James said he proposed the change to the city's firearms ordinance to avoid instances where fake guns are mistaken for the real thing.

Inspectors back in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP)  U.N. arms inspectors returned to Iraq after a four-year hiatus Monday, calling on President Saddam Hussein's government to cooperate with their search for weapons of mass destruction in the interest of peace. But Washington said it already sees likely violations.
Chief U.N. inspector Hans Blix and about 30 inspectors flew into the Iraqi capital aboard a white cargo plane emblazoned with the black letters "U.N." as allied warplanes bombed Iraqi air defense systems in the northern no-fly zone. The U.S. military said the jets were fired on during routine patrols.

Pentagon studies giving reservists early Iraq alert
WASHINGTON (AP)  National Guard and Reserve members whose special skills would be needed in a war with Iraq might get advance notice of possible mobilization, even though President Bush has not yet decided whether to use military force, a senior Pentagon official said Tuesday.
Reservists would like some warning so they can make arrangements with employers and family members, even if the call to active duty never comes, said Thomas Hall, the assistant secretary of defense for reserve af fairs. But there are concerns about such a plan, he said.